Overview
- CDU, SPD, Greens, FDP, Linke and the Unabhängige Salzufler Demokraten filed a joint motion to remove the AfD vice mayor after just two weeks in office.
- Sabine Reinknecht was unexpectedly elected on 5 November with 16 votes even though the AfD holds only 13 council seats.
- The non‑AfD factions said their goal is to support democratic institutions, ensure stable conditions for council work and safeguard the city’s reputation.
- Municipal rules allow a vice mayor to be voted out without a stated reason, and the factions also propose reducing future vice‑mayor posts to two.
- A vote is scheduled for Wednesday, with a two‑thirds threshold reported for removal, and it remains unclear which councillors supplied the extra votes that elected Reinknecht; the AfD calls the effort an attack on voters’ will.